After Rohit Sharma's match-winning knock against Pakistan at the top of the order yesterday, Dhoni is certain to have problems once Sehwag returns. But, the India captain is not complaining
After Rohit Sharma's match-winning knock against Pakistan at the top of the order yesterday, Dhoni is certain to have problems once Sehwag returns. But, the India captain is not complaining
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was left with an enviable headache last night as India's emergency opener Rohit Sharma made up for the absence of the injured Virender Sehwag to smash 80 in 53 balls and destroy Pakistan by nine wickets in their World Twenty20 warm-up match in south London.
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Sharma was in sparkling form before a 23,000 sell-out Oval crowd and Dhoni admitted he now has to decide who will open India's innings when Sehwag returns from a shoulder niggle.
No idea about the future
"It's better to have this problem rather than not have anyone to fill in the space," he said. "Rohit performed well in the IPL and I don't know at the moment what will happen when it comes to the batting order."
India were a different side from the one that limped to defeat against New Zealand on Monday, and Dhoni revealed he was persuaded to give Sharma the opener's slot by his enthusiastic response to the challenge. "I thought he was an appropriate talent to open the innings," said Dhoni. "He has got so much time, even against the quickest of bowlers."
Sharma hit nine fours and two sixes during an opening stand of 140 in 16 overs with Gautam Gambhir, who dropped anchor perfectly with an undefeated 52 in 47 balls to steer India home with 18 deliveries to spare.
In the end, it needed a stunning catch at midwicket by Ahmed Shehzad to end Sharma's fun, and he left the field to cheers from the noisy Indian contingent.
Dhoni said he was unsure when Sehwag would be fit to return, while Zaheer Khan is unlikely to recover from a shoulder injury until Wednesday's game against Ireland at the earliest. But India's bowlers coped well without their spearhead.
The star of the show was Ishant Sharma, whose first over cost no runs and brought him the wicket of Shehzad, caught off a top-edged pull, as well as the run-out of Kamran Akmal, brilliantly executed from short cover by Suresh Raina. When Shahid Afridi flashed his bogeyman Irfan Pathan's first ball to Dhoni to depart for a golden duck, Pakistan had lost three for none in five deliveries.
Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq did their best to repair the damage, but a Pakistani total of 158 for six never looked enough on a flat Oval pitch, and Sharma quickly put their score into perspective.
As Dhoni said afterwards: "If we play to our potential, we will be a tough team to beat."
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